the joe d. martin story

Hello my name is Joe D. Martin, Jr., and this is my story. It is a multifaceted story, one of an innocent man convicted and sentenced to life in prison for a murder and two attempted murders which I did not commit. It is a story of two families torn apart by criminal violence and a racially biased criminal justice system. It is the story of one man’s struggle to find true justice in an unjust system. It is a story that sheds more light on those victimized by mass incarceration.

I am totally, 100% innocent of the crimes for which I was convicted. I have no connection to anyone involved in the case on either side. I did not know nor had I ever met my so-called co-defendants, Shaun and LaDonte’ Smith, Gary Jordan, nor Vera Ashby or her boyfriend Dallas Smith. Shaun Smith testified that he never met me. LaDonte’ Smith did not testify. However, he signed an affidavit that he did not know nor had he ever met me.

I had never met any of the victims, of these crimes Jeremiah Warfield, Kevin Robinson, nor Timothy Miller. Robinson and Miller both testified at the trial that they had never met me nor ever seen me around the neighborhood. Vera Ashby and Dallas Smith both testified at my post-conviction hearing that they did not know me and I had never been to their home. I had no reason or motive to commit these crimes. I am innocent.

My trial was a complete farce, totally unfair and that is how I was convicted of crimes which I did not commit. My conviction rested on the use of perjured testimony, prosecutorial misconduct and closed-door deals made with State witnesses, as well as intimidation of defense witnesses prior to trial. The states theory was that the shooting at the market was the result of an ongoing “drug war” between the Smiths and some unknown drug suppliers from California. The prosecutor told the jury that I was a henchman for the Mafia Smith Family, this was supposed to be my connection to the Smiths and reason for committing these crimes.

I thought things like this only happened in movies, that is until it happened to me. My own naivety concerning the criminal justice system was a sobering self-discovery. To be falsely accused, then convicted, then sentenced to LIFE plus 20 years. To have your life, and the lives of your family members ripped apart all for something you did not do is beyond devastating.

Unfortunately, this is no Hollywood script, it is my life. My wrongful conviction has made me and my family victims of these crimes as well. I move forward in faith that God will touch the hearts of His children and create the situation that will manifest my exoneration!

"It’s insane how the rules of law can be contorted by the administrators of so-called justice.” — Joe D. Martin, Jr.